Ready-to-use All-Purpose Spray cleaners generally contain surfactants, solvents and alkaline builders. This three-component system is known as the “performance triangle”. Generally, if one component is removed from the performance triangle, the hard surface cleaning ability of the composition is compromised.
The reduction or removal of solvent or volatile organic compound (VOC) content of consumer cleaning products is needed to comply with legislated VOC limits in certain states, and, alternatively, to help reduce the negative effects of VOCs in the atmosphere, for example, possible ozone depletion. The challenge for the formulator has been to maintain good hard surface detergency on oily soils without the use of any VOCs, for example, glycol ethers.
The reduction or removal of alkaline builder content of consumer cleaning products is needed to improve the overall safety of the formulation in terms of corrosivity, skin irritation, and compatibility with a wider variety of hard surfaces, and to make a cleaning composition essentially safe for all surfaces. The reduction or removal of alkaline builders also reduces formulation raw material costs.
There remains a need for a composition free of solvents and/or alkalinity which achieves a primary cleaning performance at least equal to or greater than commercially available formulas containing surfactants, solvents, and alkaline builders.